3.30pm BST / 10.30am ET

Bush to attend Olympic opening ceremony

Chinese commuters wait for their buses in front of a 2008 Olympic billboard in Beijing. Photograph: Reuters

China's Olympic organisers received a political filip today as George Bush accepted an invitation to attend the opening ceremony, despite boycott calls by human rights groups.

The French head of state Nicolas Sarkozy - who had earlier indicated he might shun the games - is also likely to be present, according to French media.

The two leaders were under pressure to skip the games after the violent unrest in Tibet earlier this year drew attention to Beijing's sometimes harsh methods of control.

Critics say the Olympics will be used as a propaganda exercise by Beijing to endorse one-party rule.

The White House insisted Bush's attendance at the showpiece event was not a political statement.

"He believes he's going to China to support first and foremost our athletes. He sees this as a sporting competition," said spokeswoman Dana Perino.

But the sensitivity of the issue was apparent in the timing of the announcement - on the eve of a three-day holiday when media attention was focussed elsewhere.

The two candidates to replace Bush - Barack Obama and John McCain - have called on the president to shun the event if there was no improvement in China's human rights record.

Save Darfur, an NGO aimed at pressing China to intervene in the bloody conflict in Sudan, said the president's decision was "disappointing". But Bush is living up to a promise made last year during a summit with the Chinese president, Hu Jintao.

Less certain was the attendance of Sarkozy. After the disturbances in Tibet in March, the French president said he might not attend the opening ceremony. A backlash by Chinese consumers against French products may have helped to change his mind.

According to France's RMC radio and BFM television, Sarkozy has confirmed that he will attend the showcase event at the "bird's nest" stadium in Beijing. The president's office declined to comment, but said they would make an accouncemnt next week.

Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based campaign for freedom of expression, said that the president's attendance would be a "stab in the back for Chinese dissidents."

While Sarkozy is guaranteed the red carpet, it is far from certain that he will receive a warm welcome. Many people were furious that he threatened to stay away.

"Chinese people do not want the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics," the state-run China Daily noted on its website, citing an Internet survey by the leading news portal Sina.com.

Gordon Brown has said he will not attend the opening ceremony, but he will be in Beijing for the close of the games for the handover of the Olympic torch to London.

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